Musubi - Knotting
by AsBsCs
Summary: Eight years have been spent while she felt empty. Five years has he been searching for an answer. The story of how they met again. One-shot


**OKAY, so I just recently re-watched Kimi no Na Wa and, overcome by the emotions flowing because of the movie, this happened. I'll do my best to portray the characters and the undiluted emotions in the movie. THIS IS JUST A RETELLING OF THE ENDING. ONE-SHOT. Read and review hehe**

* * *

He was falling. An expanse of white and soft colors all around and he was falling. Why was he falling? He didn't know. A flash of red appeared above him. _A cord? A braided cord?_ He reached up as a voice started to meld into the background.

 _"_! Namae wa _!"_

 _What? Your name is..._ As soon as he touched the tip of the cord, the world faded to black.

* * *

Taki woke up with a start. Sitting up, he clenched his hand feeling as though something was missing. That dream would always come to him, yet as soon as he got up, the memory would fade. As if it was never there.

 _What? What was the name? Namae wa._ It always ended there and the name would never reach his ears. The feeling of emptiness filled his being, a feeling he, by now, knew well. Feeling something wet, he touched his cheek to discover a stream of tears rolling down his face. He wasn't surprised, this happened every time he had that dream.

 _But why? Why am I crying?_

An alarm rang out breaking him from his reverie. He sighed, he was used to this. He had to go through the motions. The world wouldn't wait for him and he had to finally land a job. _How many is it today? Just one interview in the morning I think. At least it's better than yesterday._ The only silver lining he had yesterday was that he met up with Tsukasa and Takagi for lunch at the Leaves of Words and, of course, meeting up with Okudera. Even though he didn't like her anymore and she was engaged, they were still good friends.

 _To think of it, why did I stop liking her?_

He wiped his face with a towel and pulled out his suit, the only one he had really, to change. Grabbing a piece of bread, he walked towards the hallway which was filled with drawings hanged on the walls. All of them were landscapes of a town that he had an interest in back in High School. He didn't know why he was so inexplicably drawn towards the town that he even visited the remnants of the town. All he really remembered at that trip was that Okudera and Tsukasa went back to Tokyo without him while he stayed the night at a strange, yet beautiful, mountain.

Last night was strange too. He was in a café musing over his interviews when he overheard a couple discussing wedding plans. He wasn't paying them mind, that was until the woman called the man by his name. _Tessie. I swear I know that name. But... where?_ When he looked towards the couple however, they were already going out.

He tried focusing back to his work, really he did. But the thought pervaded his mind, robbing him of any semblance of clear thinking. Taki, deciding he wouldn't be able to focus, went out and started walking to clear his mind amidst the pouring rain.

The contact of the wet concrete with the soles of his shoes as he stepped gave his walk a comforting lull that managed to ease a little bit of his brooding. As he walked across the bridge - _the same bridge I was with Okudera this afternoon and that date back in High School_ \- listlessly, he passed by a woman with an umbrella.

 _ **clang**_

Taki turned towards the woman who didn't stop walking. _That... Who was that?_ Thinking nothing of it, he started walking, this time, with a purpose. The library. Which was the only that calms him down. He didn't know why but something about Itomori called to him. As if he left a part of himself there. He made his way unaware of brown eyes trailing down his back.

Taki shook his head. _Damn, I got lost in thought again._ He checked his watch and cursed to see that he was cutting close to time.

And though he was rushing, he went through the day lost in thought.

* * *

The days ever since the comet fell seemed to drag on. She always felt like she was looking for something, or someone. She really didn't know which. All she knew was that something was missing. Thinking back, it was weird why she just suddenly barged into her father's office teary-eyed and bruised and pleaded for him to evacuate the town towards Itomori High School. The farthest she could remember of that day was that she was on the edge of the body of their god, Musubi.

 _Why? Why was I there?_

That was a question she kept asking herself. Why couldn't she remember? It was something important. Something she shouldn't have forgot. But what?

 ** _I was always searching._**

She usually pushed these kinds of thoughts to the back of her head, but ever since last night the thoughts came back with a vengeance. Last night, she passed by someone who felt familiar. Someone she could swear she knows, yet, as she looked back on his messy black hair, he never looked back. She had disregarded the notion at first. What were the chances she'd bump into someone that isn't familiar but feels familiar on a rainy night in Tokyo? Nil, that's what.

Yet why was it that as she headed towards her apartment, thoughts of an unnamed person with a hazy face filled her head?

She shook her head and went back to gazing out the window of the train. The sheer beauty of Tokyo would never grow old for her. The scenery was cut by a train speeding alongside the one she was on. And the hazy face that filled her head was replaced by a clear one. Her heart leaped and the sense of longing surged forward.

 ** _Searching for someone._**

 _Is that?!_

The face was distinctly familiar and the feeling that filled her was of someone seeing something they haven't seen for a long time. It was just _so familiar_ , yet she couldn't quite place where she first saw that face. His head tilted as he noticed her from the corner of his eye. Brown eyes into blue as a feeling of connection jolted through their senses. The moment ended as soon as it started as the train he was on sped forth the opposite direction.

 _Who_

Legs came rushing out from the train as soon as the door slid open. Eyes frantic as she decided which way to go. She didn't know why she was running. Just that she was.

 _Are_

Turning right in a busy intersection, she slipped through the crowds, apologizing every time she accidentally hit someone. There was something about him. She was drawn to him.

 _You?_

Brown connected to blue. An agonizing longing in them. A soft voice threatened to speak, yet died in her mouth as the sheer foolishness of asking the question to a stranger hit her. No matter the feeling of familiarity, the stranger was still a stranger. And as the man went up the steps, the longing turned into an undeniable hurt that shook her to the core. She walked down the steps as the words tried to spill, yet her throat could not make a sound. Tears started pooling in her eyes as she hesitated.

 _Is he who I'm searching for?_ _If so, why? Why can't I make a sound?_

"Hey!"

She stopped as unexplainable happiness came forth. The voice was so _goddamn_ familiar, like a lover you haven't seen for a long time.

"Haven't we met?"

She sniffled as the tears spilled as the dam was broken. She turned as a smile came naturally to her. The tears now weren't wrought by grief, but of joy. This time, the words flowed out naturally.

"I thought so too."

A stream of tears fell down from his eyes. As the feeling of emptiness and longing that both had disappeared, they both spoke out, as though they were connected.

"Your name is...?"

"Mitsuha." "Taki."

The memories that were forgotten, surfaced. The body-switching. Living each other's lives. Setting the ground rules and the do's and don'ts. Eating at the café with Tsukasa and Takagi. Fixing Okudera's skirt. The date. Going to Tokyo to meet with Taki. Seeing Taki in the train and he didn't recognize her. The braided cord she gave to Taki as she told him her name. Her death as she watched the comet during the festival. Waking up in Taki's body in _kakuriyo_ , the underworld. _Finally_ meeting Taki at the edge of kataware-doki. Him drinking her _kuchikamizake_. Him touching her boobs. Him returning the braided cord after keeping it for three years. Him being stupid and writing _I love you_ instead of his name. Him. Him. Him.

The emotions from all the memories rushed in at once reminding her of the boy she loved. And the fact that she wasn't able to reply.

She gasped as they both drew near. A feeling of completeness settled over them. Even so, she had to make sure.

"D-do do you remember me?" They both stuttered. Shy and hesitant. Fearful of the chance that this feeling would just slip away.

"Taki-kun."

She answered by bringing him into an embrace. No words were needed to be said. The emotions and tears were enough.

 _Tying thread is Musubi_

 _Connecting people is Musubi_

 _The flow of time is Musubi_

 _They converge and take shape_

 _They twist, tangle_

 _Sometimes unravel, break_

 _Then connect again_

 _Musubi - knotting. That's time._


End file.
